September 26, 2008

MERF Appearance

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

The time of the show is 3pm EDT, 12 noon Pacific and Arizona, 10pm Israel, every Sunday. Please feel free to call in if you have any questions about my weekly comments. If you should happen to miss the show then you can go to the MERF web page and listen to me and other guest in the archives.

A music video currently broadcast on Palestinian Television denies any
historical connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem: "Oh [Sons of]
Zion, no matter how much you dig and no matter how much you destroy, your
imaginary Temple will not come into being". The repeated refrain, "Al-Aqsa
is ours," is meant to emphasize this statement, as the Al-Aqsa mosque is
built on the site of the Temple, destroyed in the year 70 during Israel's
revolt against the Roman Empire.

The video images focus on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and praying Muslims, and
together with the lyrics repeat the Palestinian fabrication that Israel is
planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and therefore it needs protection:
"Oh God, protect Al-Aqsa, Oh Allah, Al-Aqsa is ours, [protect Al-Aqsa] from
every thief and every oppressor."

www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=VPWfTtVPmhU
PA TV (Fatah) Sep. 23, 2008

The clip includes pictures to identify the "thief and oppressor" - Jews
wearing skullcaps, Israeli police and military, Israeli excavations of Old
Jerusalem, the Israeli flag, and the Western Wall. The clip sings for
another Saladin, the Muslim conqueror of Jerusalem in 1187, to appear: "How
you [Al-Aqsa] suffer! How you have bled for years! How you scream! How you
call out to the millions! What are you hoping for, who are you crying for?
Saladin!"

The video was broadcast this week on Palestinian TV, the same day that a
Jerusalem Arab injured 20 Israelis in a terror attack in Jerusalem. PA TV,
which is under the authority of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas TV have
shown this clip intermittently during the last 18 months, and it constitutes
part of a prolonged hate campaign against Israel. The campaign denies the
historical fact of the connection between the Jewish people, Jerusalem and
the Temple Mount, while infusing hatred and fear by pretending that Islam's
holy site, as well as its adherents, are in great danger.

These are the complete words of the song:

"Al-Aqsa [Mosque] is ours, Oh Muslims, Al-Aqsa is ours, our Al-Aqsa screams
and shouts, Al-Aqsa is ours. Oh Arabs and Muslims, no, no, Al-Aqsa is ours.
Oh [Sons of] Zion, no matter how much you dig and no matter how much you
destroy, your imaginary Temple will not come into being, Al-Aqsa is ours.
Al-Aqsa is ours, Oh Muslims, Al-Aqsa is ours. My land, my Jerusalem, my
blood and my honor will not be scorned. Al-Aqsa is ours, how you suffer! How
you have bled for years! How you scream! How you call out to the millions!
What are you hoping for, who are you crying for? Saladin [Muslim conqueror
of Jerusalem in 1187] ! Al-Aqsa is ours. Oh Lord, protect Al-Aqsa, Oh Allah,
Al-Aqsa is ours, [protect Al-Aqsa] from every thief and every oppressor. Oh
Allah, Al-Aqsa is ours. Al-Aqsa is ours, Oh Muslims, Al-Aqsa is ours."
[PA TV (Fatah) Sep. 23, 2008]

September 24, 2008

Problem Grows

Arab MK to Sail on Next ‘Free Gaza’ Boat, in Violation of Ban
24 Elul 5768, 24 September 08 02:00
by Ze'ev Ben-Yechiel

(IsraelNN.com) MK Jamal Zahalka of the Israeli Arab Balad party said that he will sail to Gaza on the second Free Gaza shipping sojourn, in direct violation of an IDF ban on ships entering the area. Emboldened by the failure of the IDF to enforce the ban of last August’s Free Gaza ship journey, Zahalka will become the first Knesset member to openly break the laws of his own government when he sails Wednesday.

As his ship awaits departure in Cyprus, Zahalka said, that "it is my duty as a politician who slaves away night and day against the siege, to board that boat and work towards ending this inhumane siege." Many in Israel do not understand how the Israeli government’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza and the expulsion of all of its 9,000 Jewish residents constitutes a siege.

Although Israel issued a clear ban against any ships entering the Gaza coast, as well barred Israeli citizens from entering Gaza through any means, Zahalka remains defiant. "This journey is part of an opening of a naval passage to Gaza, which will constitute a doorway for the residents," he said, suggesting that it will be the actions of a small group of left-wing activists from Israel and abroad that will determine Israeli policy, and not the Israeli government.

Zahalka will join some 20 activists and several doctors on the second boat to illegally enter Gaza since the first ‘Free Gaza’ expedition in August. In last month’s ‘Free Gaza’ landing, 44 activists landed a boat on a Gaza beach without interference from the Israeli navy. The government decided not to enforce its maritime ban on Gaza despite the clear challenge to Israeli authority, fearing that the seizure of the ‘Free Gaza’ boat would attract undue attention to the anti-Israel activists. However, Wednesday’s planned departure of another boat, due to arrive the following day, indicates that the organizers of the August boat were encouraged by their successful landing.

Among the activists in August’s boat were Lauren Booth, sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and left-wing activist Jeff Halper, an Israeli citizen. Halper was arrested on his return to Israel for violating the ban on Israelis entering Gaza. Although Halper awaits possible indictment, Zahalka, as a member of Israel’s parliament, will be immune from the laws that he plans to break.

The Israeli government has yet to decide on whether to enforce the entry ban this time.

The situation grows worse due to Israel not acting to solve this problem in a permanent way.

I said we should have sunk these ships the first time they sailed for Gaza, I was right then and I am right now when I say even with a Knesset member on board these ships must be sunk.

Three Arab residents of east Jerusalem have been charged with the murders of
two Border Police officers in separate shootings in the city this year,
police announced Wednesday.

Coming on the heels of Monday night's vehicle terror attack near Jerusalem's
Old City, the announcement served to highlight the growing phenomenon of
Jerusalem Arabs who are linked to terrorism.

The three suspects, who were arrested last month, have confessed to the
killings and reenacted them, Jerusalem Police chief Cmdr. Aharon Franco said
at a police briefing.

The three men are suspected of killing officer Rami Zuari on January 24 near
the city's Shuafat refugee camp, and officer David Shriki on July 11, near
the Lions Gate.

Two other border policemen were wounded in the shooting attacks.

A gag order which had been imposed on the case was lifted Wednesday
afternoon.

The chief suspect in the case, Muhammad Khalil Adnan Abu-Sneina, 21, of the
Anata neighborhood, allegedly set up two terror cells of three to five
members each, in both Jerusalem and Hebron, to carry out the attacks.

A search of his home uncovered three handguns, knives and electric
stun-guns.

The suspect, who had no security record, owned a market stall near Herod's
Gate in the Old City, which he used as a stakeout to plan the attacks.

Abu-Sneina's father was arrested in 1981 and sentenced to life imprisonment
for the murders of soldier Avraham Deutsch in 1978 and Yosef Moscovitch in
1979, an Israeli security official said.

He was released in 1985 as part of a prisoner exchange between Israel and
the Palestinians.

According to police, Abu-Sneina and his fellow cell members had first tried
to steal a weapon from a soldier or civilian, but after failing to do so had
pooled their money and bought a pistol in Hebron.

In the first attack, Abu-Sneina enlisted Mahmad Julani, 21, of the city's
Shuafat refugee camp, who remained in the car as a lookout, police said.
Abu-Sneina passed through the checkpoint near the neighborhood, presenting
his blue Israeli identity card to the officers on duty, only to return to
the site shortly afterwards, where he shot Zuari at close range and
seriously wounded a female officer, the indictment says.

He then snatched the officer's rifle and fled the scene in the waiting
vehicle.

Six months later, Abu-Sneina went out with the third suspect, Louis Abu
Nigma, 24, also from the Shuafat refugee camp, to carry out an attack near
the Lions Gate, but left the scene due to the heavy police presence in the
area, the charge sheet says.

According to the indictment, the two men returned to the area the next day.

After Abu Nigma verified that the area was "clean," Abu-Sneina allegedly
fatally shot Shriki and seriously wounded another officer before his gun
jammed. Shriki died less than two weeks later.

The three suspects also allegedly planned to murder a Jerusalem police
officer, who they trailed home from work, and to kidnap a security officer

They also planned to shoot at a police patrol vehicle next to Almog Junction
north of the Dead Sea, carry out a shooting attack on a bus at northern
Jerusalem's French Hill junction, and shoot at a border crossing in Hebron.

The three suspects were charged in Jerusalem District Court on September 15
with murder, attempted murder and an array of other charges, including
illegal possession of firearms and weapons trafficking.

"This is an initial closing of a circle for us," said Zion Shriki of Rishon
Lezion, David's father.

"It proves that, whoever comes to kill us, we will catch up with them and
get them," Shriki said.

Since the beginning of the year, 250 Arab residents of east Jerusalem have
been arrested by police for terror-related offenses, including firebombing
and rock-throwing, a marked increase compared to last year, Franco said.

Nevertheless, the city's police chief insisted that a third intifada was not
in progress.

One in three of Jerusalem's 750,000 residents is Arab. Unlike Palestinians
living in the West Bank, Arab residents of the city enjoy freedom of
movement throughout Israel.

"I do not see any way to limit the movement of 270,000 Arab residents of the
city," Franco said.

He added that intelligence information was the main way for police to
prevent such attacks, but noted that police had had no warnings ahead of any
of the attacks in the city this year.

News of the indictment came two days after a 19-year-old from east Jerusalem
plowed his car into a crowd at an intersection near the Old City, wounding
more than a dozen people, mainly soldiers, before being shot dead.

Generation terrorism, will be the way of the future since Israel has not had the courage to do the right thing.

If a terrorist is convicted of a crime of terrorism that involves the wounding or death of Israeli; they should pay for their crime with their life.

September 23, 2008

Bring It On

(IsraelNN.com) Ahmed Qureia, senior negotiator for the Palestinian Authority (PA), said on Tuesday that "resistance in all its forms is a legitimate right" and that violence could erupt if talks with Israel are stalled during the current transitional government.

The former PA prime minister declared that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who has been designated by President Shimon Peres to form the next government, had promised after the two leaders met Tuesday afternoon that talks would continue.

"Livni reassured me she would continue the peace process without accepting any conditions," he stated. However, he added that he doubts whether an agreement will be reached by the end of the year for establishing a new Arab state within Israel's current borders.

"The Palestinians will continue to negotiate," he said, regardless of what happens politically in Israel. "But if the talks reach a dead end, what do we do? Capitulate? Resistance in all its forms is a legitimate right," he said.

He later complained that his remarks were taken out of context and that he was referring to political and not violent resistance.

Qureia has also opposed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's insistence on trying to bring about "a statement of principles" instead of a final pact for a new PA state within Israel's current borders.

Abbas Embattled in PA Politics

The PA negotiator also refused to join PA Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) on his trip to the United States this week.

Abbas, who is meeting with American as well as foreign officials in Washington and New York, is facing his own troubles in the PA.

Although his term is due to end in January 2009, as with US President George W. Bush, he has stated that he intends to stay until 2010 to ensure a smooth and peaceful presidential and legislative election. The announcement was received with anger by the rival Hamas terrorist faction that rules Gaza, which was originally voted into majority rule of the governing Palestinian Legislative Council in January 2006.

Fatah meanwhile agreed on Tuesday to an Egyptian proposal to form a new "national government of consensus," announced senior Fatah spokesman Nabil Sha'ath after the delegation met with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.

"The proposal is for forming a new government with people accepted by all the organizations, and also by the Arabs and internationally," said Sha'ath.
www.IsraelNationalNews.com

I say bring it on!

Let us not fear the threat of terrorists, let their threats be our battle cry.

Victory is our goal and nothing short of victory can ease the pain of over 100 years of suffering the death and destruction that these terrorist have brought to the Jewish people.

Let us find new leaders with strength in their hearts to fight for the Jewish people and to bring the war to a victorious end.

September 22, 2008

IDF Soldier Blinded in Acid Attack by Arab Female at Hawara

22 Elul 5768, 22 September 08 07:19
by Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) An IDF soldier faces the prospect of surgery on Tuesday and the loss of his vision in the wake of an attack by a Palestinian Authority Arab woman who sprayed toxic acid in his face on Monday.

The terrorist attacked the young soldier while he was manning the Hawara checkpoint near the PA-controlled city of Shechem in Samaria. She sprayed the toxic acid in his face as she crossed through the humanitarian lane which requires no security checks, inasmuch as it is used for medical care and other urgent cases.

Soldiers arrested the woman, who was found to be the same terrorist who struck in a similar attack on another soldier at the same location last week.

The soldier was rushed to a nearby hospital and transferred to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, where he was informed of the loss of vision in one of his eyes. Tuesday's operation is intended address the burns around his eyes.

Three PA Arabs were also injured from the substance. The attacker was taken into custody by other soldiers and transferred to security personnel for questioning.

Second Acid Attack in September

Monday’s incident was the second assault by the same terrorist this month. In the previous attack, she also attempted to cross through the humanitarian lane. She then approached the soldier stationed in the lane, sprayed the acid at his face and raced back in the direction from which she had come. However, in the chaos that ensued last time, she succeeded in her escape.

Her victim, who suffered light injuries from the acid, was taken to the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikvah for treatment.

The Hawara checkpoint has been the scene of numerous attacks on IDF soldiers and attempts by PA Arab teenage terrorists to smuggle explosive materials and other weapons into pre-1967 Israel for attacks on civilians.

Such items have included pipe bombs, gunpowder, rifle magazines, knives and other weapons.

Nonetheless, the IDF is currently "investing many resources to renovate the Hawara crossing for the convenience of the Palestinian population in the area and to improve the traffic in it," said a statement issued by the Army Spokesperson's Office.

Not the First Female Terrorist in Samaria

There have been at least 10 suicide bombings perpetrated by female terrorists from Judea and Samaria since 2002. More than 40 female terrorists have been arrested since the Oslo War began on Rosh HaShana, 2000. Some were arrested while on their way to commit suicide attacks.

An 18-year-old female suicide bomber from Shechem blew herself up at a crowded Border Guard commuter stop in northern Jerusalem exactly four years ago this month, murdering two Israelis and wounding some 30 others. Zeinab Ali Isa Abu-Salem, described by an Israeli eyewitness as “extraordinarily beautiful” was the hostess of a children’s TV show on a local station in Shechem owned by her family.

Abu-Salem detonated herself one day after US President George W. Bush had told the United Nations General Assembly that Israel must “end the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people” in a reference to the security checkpoints.

A year earlier, on October 4, 2003, 28-year-old Hanadi Jaradat detonated an explosive belt she wore into the Maxim restaurant in Haifa in one of the worst bombing attacks ever. The female terrorist murdered 21 Jewish and Arab Israelis, and wounded 51 others. Among the victims were two families and four children, including a two-month-old baby.

Jaradat, a trainee lawyer and a member of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization based in Damascus, blew up a restaurant that is known as a symbol of co-existence, co-owned by a Jew and a Christian Arab. Although the interior of the establishment was completely destroyed, it was promptly rebuilt and business was restored within a few months.

How in the world was this woman out free is beyond me.

It should be very simple if you are an Arab and you attempt to do harm to the Jewish people you are in jail until you are convicted of your crime and then you are executed.

We need to put fear into the hearts of our enemies, it used to be there and no longer is, that is why in a ten day period this woman was able to carry out two terror attacks and an Arab in Jerusalem ran his car into a crowd of Jews.

Make them pay a heavy price for lifting their hand against the Jewish people.

A terrorist driving a black BMW ran his car into a crowd of pedestrians at a busy intersection in central Jerusalem near the Old City on Monday evening.

At least 17 people were confirmed wounded at Zahal Square, most in light-to-moderate condition. Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated those wounded to the Hadassah Ein Karem and Shaare Zedek hospitals for treatment.

Most of those wounded are reportedly soldiers belonging to the Artillery Corps who were on a 'Selichot Tour' in Jerusalem. Selichot are Jewish penitential prayers said during the High Holidays.

The terrorist, a Palestinian from east Jerusalem, was shot dead by an IDF officer holding the rank of lieutenant who was with the soldiers.

A female civilian sustained moderate-to-serious wounds.

Wounded soldier evacuated to hospital (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Rescue services rushed to the scene, and police have blocked traffic in the area. Sappers examined the terrorist's body, fearing he may have been wearing a bomb belt.

The terrorist reportedly began his rampage on Shivtei Yisrael Street. Security authorities say they have been able to ascertain the identity of the terrorist, it has not yet been released for publication.

"The terrorist was in a private car, he rammed straight into a group of people touring the area," said first

responded Haim Weingreten, a ZAKA volunteer.

Police say had no alerts

Jerusalem District Commander Aharon Franco said that police officials did not have a specific warning regarding an intention to carry out an attack in Jerusalem.

"This attack could have taken place anywhere," he said. "The police are deployed in force in order to prevent such incidents.

Earlier this summer, Jerusalem was the scene of two similar attacks. In the first attack, three people were murdered after an east Jerusalem terrorist went on a rampage with his bulldozer, targeting passersby in central Jerusalem. More than 30 people sustained wounds in the attack.

Three weeks later, a terrorist who went on a similar rampage was shot to death early into his attack. As a result, he was unable to murder anyone, but 18 people were wounded in the attack. The terrorist who perpetrated the second rampage was also from east Jerusalem.

September 21, 2008

Bleed Each Other Dry

Palestinians headed to civil war

All signs show that a bloody Hamas-Fatah confrontation will come soon
Moshe Elad

The meeting that took place last week in Beit El, attended by 10 Palestinian West Bank security chiefs as well as Israeli military and police officers, attests to a shift by Mahmoud Abbas and his people. This is not yet a strategic change, and it is not yet a military alliance between Fatah and Israel vis-à-vis Hamas, but nonetheless, it’s a shift. The Fatah-led Palestinian national camp and the Hamas-led radical Islamic camp are closer than ever to a historic and violent all-out clash; a true civil war.

The statements made by senior Fatah officials during the meeting were unprecedented. Fatah officers openly called for “joint action with Israel against the common enemy – Hamas,” and expressed their “willingness to take care of the Hamas mosques and institutions using information provided by Israel.” This is certainly an interesting novelty. I wonder about the reaction of Jibril Rajoub and Mohammad Dahlan, who swore that Fatah will never become Israel’s security contractor in the territories. Maybe this is why today Dahlan is a building contractor, while Rajoub heads the Palestinian soccer association.

The first “intra-Palestinian Intifada” is expected to take place in the coming two to three months, and should climax in January 2009. Three elements are at the basis of this civil war, which is expected, for the first time, to become a bloody and uncompromising confrontation until the enemy is defeated.

Hamas wants presidential elections

The first element is Hamas’ expected challenge over the validity of Mahmoud Abbas’ presidency. The Palestinian leader’s four-year term in office will end on January 9th. While Abbas, who is ignoring the “Hamas rebels in Gaza,” is determined to continue in the post for a fifth year, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal urged him to terminate his term in office and allow free presidential elections, in the hopes that the next president will be a Hamas man. Abbas has already announced that a challenge to his presidency would prompt him to declare Gaza a “rebellious territory” and lead to complete disengagement between the two parts of the Palestinian Authority.

The second element is Abbas’ desire to prevent a repeat of the 2007Gaza events in the West Bank. The embarrassment, as the Palestinians refer to it, that is, the embarrassing humiliation involving Dahlan and his forces in Gaza, constituted a warning that similar developments are expected in the West Bank as well. While Hamas does not have strong military bases and fighting forces in the West Bank as it does in the Gaza Strip, the ideological support enjoyed by the group in the West Bank is no weaker than in Gaza.

Those who are no less concerned than Abbas are American General Keith Dayton, who is rebuilding the PA’s defensive forces, as well as IDF and Shin Bet officers who recommend Israeli assistance to Fatah in preparation for war. Many Palestinians believe that without the IDF backing granted to Abbas in the West Bank, Hamas would have expelled Fatah a long time ago using broomsticks. Both Dayton and the IDF are concerned about the “June 2007 syndrome,” where Hamas’ ideological zeal defeated the fat and satiated Fatah, which was hated by the public, in Gaza.

We should keep in mind that in the West Bank, Fatah is still perceived as a corrupt organization padded with Western money and weapons – a fact that works against it when it comes to local public support. At the end of the day, we can expect a clash between Fatah’s military forces in the West bank and Hamas’ popular power; a Fatah victory is not at all guaranteed.

A Palestinian Altalena

The third reason for the upcoming clash is the fact that for the first time since the Oslo Accords, Abbas and his forces are truly with their backs against the wall. Abbas indeed enjoys Western support, yet he realizes that as opposed to the previous battles where Fatah was defeated, the next one will also take place at the government compound in Ramallah. He would not want to see impassioned religious masses besieging his office and calling for his head.

Fatah leaders have emergency escape plans, and most of them own homes overseas. We should not be surprised if they make use of them again this time. However, this time around it appears that that Abbas would at least order Fatah men to open fire on Hamas men; this time around, we shall see a Palestinian Altalena.

And what about the Israeli angle? This time, it’s a very sharp one. In addition to the Israeli assistance offered to Fatah, Israel also holds Hamas “hostages.” As we know, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal seeks to dismiss Abbas “democratically,” that is, via a Palestinian High Court declaration, to be supported by two thirds of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Yet while Fatah holds only 48 out of 132 seats in the Council, as opposed to Hamas’ 76, about half of Hamas’ parliamentarians are jailed in Israel and are used as a bargaining chip ever since Gilad Shalit’s abduction.

Colonel (res.) Moshe Elad served in various posts in the territories and currently researches Palestinian society at the Shmuel Neeman Institute at the Technion. He also serves as a lecturer at the Western Galilee Academic College

Good.

When your enemy is killing each other it keeps them from killing you.

I want to wish every success to Fatah and Hamas in their civil war, may they bleed each other dry.

September 19, 2008

MERF Appearance

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

The time of the show is 3pm EDT, 12 noon Pacific and Arizona, 10pm Israel, every Sunday. Please feel free to call in if you have any questions about my weekly comments. If you should happen to miss the show then you can go to the MERF web page and listen to me and other guest in the archives.

September 18, 2008

500 Palestinian security force members head to Jordan for U.S.-funded training

About 500 members of a security force loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas crossed into Jordan on Thursday for U.S.-funded training, the second
such battalion to do so.

Washington wants to train the backbone of a Palestinian gendarmerie that
would underpin any future state.

The battalion from Abbas's National Security Force will undergo training for
four months in police tactics, riot control and human rights, officials
said.

An official at the Israeli-controlled Allenby Bridge, between the occupied
West Bank and Jordan, said the battalion crossed without incident.

It is the second battalion from the NSF to undergo U.S.-funded training,
which is part of the Bush administration's push for an Israeli-Palestinian
peace deal this year. The first battalion returned to the West Bank in late
May.

The U.S. training program has fuelled tensions between Abbas's secular Fatah
faction and its rival Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip last
year.

U.S., Israeli and Palestinian officials assert that Hamas receives security
equipment and training from Iran and other Islamist allies.

The training is conducted by Jordanian police at the Jordanian International
Police Training Center near Amman.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas launched statehood talks last
November with the goal of reaching a deal by year's end but the talks have
shown little progress.

Olmert, poised to step down as premier following his party's election of a
new leader on Wednesday, has insisted that a Palestinian state will not be
established until Abbas regains control of the Gaza Strip from Hamas and
reins in militants in the West Bank, where his government is based.

September 17, 2008

Be Afraid

Palestinian Authority officials said Wednesday night they were pleased with Tzipi Livni's apparent victory in the Kadima primaries and were looking forward to continuing peace talks with her.

PA officials anxiously followed the Kadima primaries throughout the day, and just like Livni's associated were concerned about the low turnout rate earlier in the day. Palestinian sources were concerned that a Mofaz victory would halt the diplomatic process, while a Livni victory was perceived as recipe for continued talks.

A senior PA official told Ynet: "We'll work with anyone, but it's no secret that working with Livni will be much easier. She knows her stuff so there's no need to start from scratch with her. We hope very much that she'd be able to put together a coalition so that we can continue to negotiate."

The source added that a Mofaz victory would prompt him to move closer to Shas and rightist parties at the expense of talks with the Palestinians.

"Livni realizes that the solution to the current situation is a quick diplomatic agreement with us," he said. "We hope that she'd be able to form a government very quickly."

Meanwhile, many PA residents also closely monitored the primaries, while Palestinian and Arab networks offered coverage of the vote.

Nothing more needs to be said.

When your enemy supports the election of a candidate then you should be afraid, no you should be very afraid.

September 16, 2008

Gaza-Cyprus sea line planned to continue Free Gaza momentum

Gaza - Ma'an - A spokesperson for the Popular Committee Against the Siege
announced on Monday the creation of a first-of-its-kind Palestinian sea line
connecting the Gaza Strip with Cyprus.

The head of the committee, Jamal Al-Khudari, said the plans are proof that
the Israeli siege "has been broken." He noted that seven Palestinians
departed Gaza in August aboard the Free Gaza I and USS Liberty without exit
permits from Israel or entrance visas for Cyprus.

And in what was perhaps the first such act since the Palestinian Authority
(PA)'s founding, the Gazan "ports authority" marked each of the seven
residents' passports with exit stamps as they boarded the two ships.

Al-Khudari called their passage "a message for the Arab, Islamic and
international world" that the Israeli siege had effectively ended.

Another activist, Kin Okeiv, said the group is finalizing the establishment
of "Aloha Palestine Aloha," the company that will operate the Gaza sea line.
Planning is underway for transferring "patients, students and stranded
families" out of the Gaza Strip, he said.

But Okeiv emphasized that the international campaign is peaceful. "We are
supporters of humanity and are against violence," he said.

Okeiv did admit, however, that the plan is likely contrary to Israeli law,
though he remained adamant that the new company "does not need Israeli
approval. We have approval from the international community," he said.

Israel does consider applications for docking permits, at least officially.

British journalist Lauren Booth announced that the port of Gaza "is now free
to receive boats from all around the world." She also said hundreds of
thousands of dollars had been raised to fund the departure of interested
Gazans.

Stranded in the coastal territory since her 23 August arrival on Free Gaza
I, the new sea line could facilitate her own departure, as well.

Israel and Egypt separately refused her entry applications, which she called
a violation of international law. Booth blamed "Israeli stubbornness" for
isolating her in Gaza.

Incidentally, Booth is the sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister
Tony Blair.

On Sunday, two unaffiliated organizations announced plans to send their own
ships from Yemen and Cyprus within weeks. Both vessels are scheduled to
depart for Gaza by the end of September, weather permitting.

This is what happens when you forget your country is still at war for her survival.

You become soft and allow things to happen that should be solved when they are small problems and not allowed to grow into bigger problems.

"Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our nation's
decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad. By changing policies,
programs and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist, we provide
help and opportunity far beyond the communities in which we live."
www.bread.org/about-us/

So "Bread for the World" is spending charity money to encourage Israeli
draft dodgers to end hunger?]

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz recently ordered the police to open a
criminal investigation against the New Profile organization - the first time
a criminal probe has ever been launched against a group that encourages
draft dodging.

The probe, launched in response to a request from the Israel Defense Forces,
constitutes an intensification of the army's war on draft dodging. It was
prompted by concern over the growing extent of this phenomenon. Military
Advocate General Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit asked Mazuz to order the
probe in February, and earlier this month, Mazuz acceded to his request.

New Profile's Web site defines the group's purpose as supplying "detailed
and reliable information about the procedures that enable one to obtain an
exemption from military service," as well as "moral support" for those
seeking such an exemption.

Under Israeli law, "incitement to draft dodging" is a crime in itself,
though no group has ever before been investigated for this offense. In
addition, however, New Profile is suspected of helping people secure
exemptions fraudulently. "The severity of [New Profile's] incitement to
draft evasion, which includes convincing [people] to obtain exemptions from
service, necessitates opening up an investigation," Deputy Attorney General
Shai Nitzan wrote in a statement informing Mendelblit of Mazuz's decision.

The main reason for the probe's launch is apparently the fact that New
Profile's web site tells people what to say to IDF mental health officers to
create the impression that they are psychologically unfit for service. In a
document entitled "The goal: 21," it details various ways of getting army
evaluators to assign the applicant a profile of 21, which is the IDF code
for unfit to serve. Many teens say that such advice has helped them in
obtaining draft exemptions.

Last summer, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Gabi
Ashkenazi declared war on draft evasion, in response to data showing that in
2007, almost 28 percent of all draft-age males would not be drafted. Since
then, the IDF has tried various tactics: media campaigns aimed at increasing
motivation to serve, closer cooperation with high schools and
municipalities, and barring artists who did not serve from performing for
the troops.

The IDF's Personnel Directorate claims that these efforts, coupled with a
stricter attitude on the part of the army's mental health officers, have
begun to bear fruit: This year, the proportion of draft-age males who
obtained mental-health exemptions fell to 5.1 percent, from 5.5 percent last
year, and the number of soldiers who obtained mental-health exemptions
during their service also dropped.

Army sources expressed satisfaction with Mazuz's decision. "Thorough legal
treatment of this movement is very important to deter evaders and those who
urge them to evade," explained one.

IDF Spokesman Avi Benayahu termed the decision "another important step" in
the war on draft dodging. This war, he added, "must be a joint effort by the
IDF, the state authorities and Israeli society in general."

Yuval Azoulay adds: Sergei Sandler, one of New Profile's leaders, said in
response: "Our activity is completely legal. We give information to young
people about to be drafted about the various procedures open to them, which
the army obviously has an interest in hiding. The decision to open an
investigation against New Profile contains an element of persecution. Every
such decision is ultimately a political decision aimed at shutting our
mouths and protecting a certain kind of social order. But if they want to
investigate, let them. Our activity is legal; we don't encourage fraud; and
we're proud of our activity."

The answer is simple any and all property that belongs to these groups in Israel is seized and their leaders are deported and never let back into the country. Any denomination that they are apart of has their property seized and their leaders deported.

Christian and other groups must understand that it is a privilege to have a presence in Israel it is not a right.

Interfere with the defense of Israel and you loose that privilege forever. Once you are deported and your group is banned from Israel and you want to come back and stir up problems then things will get much tougher and nastier for you, enough said but let me be blunt their would be no three strikes, your out.

Strike Two and we should take action so that you will never harm the Jewish people again, ever.

New Gaza Threat

Gaza - Ma'an - A boat from Yemin with a crew of from around the Arab world
will set sail in the wake of the Free Gaza ships and work to widen the
cracks in Israel's siege on Gaza.

Palestinian lawmaker Jamal Al-Khudari who is also head of the Popular
Campaign against the Siege announced the voyage of the second ship, which
was inspired by the success of the Free Gaza experiment on Sunday.

Al-Khudari spoke with the Secretary General of the National Committee to
Support Issues of Arab and Islamic nations Sa'id Abdel Mo'men An'am earlier
in the day. An'am said the crew will launch with the permission of the
Yemini government and representatives from the popular committee against
siege.

"Yemeni people all support the besieged Palestinian people in Gaza," An'am
said, "and we seek to help break the blockade."

Al-Khudari applauded this step, saying the committee is ready and prepared
to coordinate for the boat to cross easily and arrive to the beach of the
Gaza Strip. He called this step an important move in continuing the momentum
created by the first ship of activists. He applauded the Yeminis for heeding
the calls of the popular committee to consider the holy month of Ramadan the
"month to break the blockade," and encouraged other Arab nations to "put
words into action" and follow the Yemini's initiative.

This is why when the terrorist loving enemies of Israel sailed last month to Gaza Israel should have sunk the ships outside of Israeli waters.

Once you let one crack occur in the damn how can you stop other cracks from happening.

Today it is terrorist loving peace freaks that get smuggled into Gaza tomorrow it is surface to air missiles to shoot down our aircraft or surface to surface missiles to bomb our cities.

It is time to get tough with Gaza before we are forced to pay with the blood of our civilians as they are hit in the cities with long range missiles.

September 14, 2008

A Bridge Too Far

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas will met Tuesday to discuss the future of Jerusalem and the PA demand that millions of foreign Arabs move to Israel, Channel Two television reported. The Prime Minister's Kadima party will vote the following day on a successor to lead the party and try to form the next government.

If one of the four candidates wins 40 percent of the vote on the first round, Prime Minister Olmert might step down immediately. However, he is going ahead with a "business as usual" approach. Channel Two said that he, and not Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, is talking with the PA about the future borders of the capital.

The Shas party has consistently said it will leave the coalition and presumably topple the government if senior negotiators, meaning Foreign Minister Livni, were to discuss the possibility of dividing the capital so that the PA can control part of it and claim it is as the capital of a new Arab country. She has repeatedly denied that she has spoken with PA negotiators on the matter, but Abbas has insisted the issue has been discussed.

The Israeli position has continually softened in the past year, especially since American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared several months ago that the Har Homa neighborhood, near Gilo in southern Jerusalem, is a "settlement," putting it on par with all Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. By definition, all of the neighborhoods added to Jerusalem after the Six-Day War in 1967 have the same status as Har Homa. These areas include French Hill, Gilo, Ramot, Pisgat Zev and East Talpiot, among others.

Abbas has demanded that Israel also withdraw from the city of Ma'aleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem, but Channel Two said he is willing to negotiate over Gilo and French Hill.

Israel also has softened its issue on the issue of "refugees," the common term that refers to approximately five million Arabs in foreign countries who claim to be f Arabs who fled Israel during the wars in 1948 and 1967 and their descendants.

The issue once was a "red line" that no political leader was willing to cross, but Prime Minister Olmert, several months ago, quietly agreed to make several hundred "exceptions" for Arabs to move to Judea and Samaria. The number later increased to several thousand, during subsequent meetings with Abbas.

One driving force behind Prime Minister's determination to reach an outline of an agreement with Abbas is to satisfy the determination by American President George W. Bush that a deal will be made before the next president takes office next January.

An Olmert-Abbas pact will not have any legal standing without Cabinet or Knesset approval but will be able to be used by the American government and the European Union (EU) as a tool to force the next Israeli government to use it as a base for further compromises.

Abbas also wants an agreement in order to bolster his claim that his mandate can be extended for another year. He has arranged to meet with President Bush in Washington next week, possibly with an agreement in hand.

September 12, 2008

MERF Appearance

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

The time of the show is 3pm EDT, 12 noon Pacific and Arizona, 10pm Israel, every Sunday. Please feel free to call in if you have any questions about my weekly comments. If you should happen to miss the show then you can go to the MERF web page and listen to me and other guest in the archives.

Given So Much For So Little Or Maybe An Abundance

Abbas to Haaretz: Peace deal would have to include right of return
By Akiva Eldar and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondent Last update -
15:05 12/09/2008
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1020448.html

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas doubts that any peace agreement can be
reached by the end of 2008, as not one of the six key issues in a
final-status arrangement has yet been resolved, but insists that any future
deal will have to include the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

Speaking to Haaretz on the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Oslo
Accords, Abbas said that Washington plays a central role in the peace
process. Senior American officials are anxious to reach an agreement by the
end of the year and are convinced this is possible.

However, the gaps between the parties remain wide.

"We presented our ideas and demands regarding the six issues," Abbas stated,
"but have not received any answer from the Israeli side."

Among other things, the Palestinians are demanding negotiations over
disputed lands claimed by both sides, such as the Latrun region, as part of
their demand for an Israeli withdrawal from the entire West Bank, the Gaza
Strip and East Jerusalem, subject to territorial swaps.

Regarding the refugees, the Palestinian president said: "We understand that
if all five million refugees return to their homes, the State of Israel will
be destroyed." Nonetheless, he added, Israel must discuss both its
responsibility for the refugee problem and a practical right of return.

From his remarks, it was apparent that he was trying to bring across the
message that he is probably the best negotiations partner Israel can
currently hope for. On one issue, however, he was adamant: the right of
return. In any future peace deal, Israel will have to commit to absorbing
Palestinian refugees, following negotiations over the numbers, he insisted.

"Palestinians who do not return to Israel will be able to return to
Palestine," he continued. He also said a solution to the refugee problem
would be based on the Arab peace initiative of 2002, which stated that the
solution must be based on United Nations Resolution 194, but acceptable to
Israel.

Abbas pointed out that every Muslim nation in the region, including Iran
(prior to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election as president), adopted the Arab
initiative. "I presented the document with the Iranian signature to Olmert,
but he did not respond," Abbas said. "Regrettably, to this day no debate has
been held by the Israeli cabinet."

Abbas stressed that he will not agree to an interim arrangement such as a
state in temporary borders. Any agreement must address all the components of
the conflict, including Jerusalem and the right of return, he said;
therefore, "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed."

He concurred with Jordan's King Abdullah II, who told the French newspaper
L'Express that he doubts Israel wants to resolve the conflict, as it lacks
long-term vision. The outlines of an agreement are well known, he said, and
Israel's internal political disputes are apparently the reason no progress
has been made.

Under an Arab League proposal to reconcile Fatah and Hamas, Abbas said, all
members of the Fatah-Hamas unity government would have to honor all
agreements and commitments signed by the PLO, including the Arab initiative
and the road map. He urged Israel to release all the Hamas parliamentarians
it has jailed, saying: "We have made it clear to Israel that any peace
agreement would involve the release of all Palestinian prisoners."

He also warned against the increasing strength of Al-Qaida in the
territories and said the way to curb the organization's power is to end the
blockade of Gaza, since suffering strengthens the extremists.

"Even today, I am sure I would sign the Oslo Accords," Abbas concluded. "I
risked my life for peace, and if I have to pay for it with my life, it is
still a marginal price."

He rejected calls from some leading Palestinian for a single state in which
Palestinians would have equal rights. "We must stick to the 'two states for
two peoples' solution. But the continued construction of settlements, the
roadblocks, the raids in the West Bank distance it."

He emphasized that the West Bank and Gaza must be united, or there will be
no Palestinian state. Nonetheless, he insisted that this must be achieved
only through diplomatic means. "We erred when we made the second intifada
into an armed struggle, and I will do everything to prevent a third armed
intifada," he said.

In the last 17 years Israel has caved in on so many issues that I can't even remember all the so called "red lines" that Israel swore they would never cross but did.

While our enemy has not deviated one centimeter from the original demands.

So who is winning and who is loosing?

Can Israel survive our leaders from Camp David on we have given so much for so little.

The only item that has come in an abundance is the body count of dead or maimed Jews.

September 11, 2008

Seven Years after 9/11: Arabs Still Blame the Jews

11 Elul 5768, 11 September 08 09:52
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

(IsraelNN.com) Academics and the "man on the street" in the Arab world still blame the Jews and Israel for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that devastated the US and punctured the American image of being impossible to penetrate. Arab media have widely claimed that Arabs are the biggest victims of the attacks.

A New York Times man-on-the-street survey revealed disbelief that Arab terrorists were behind the attacks, and many still outright accuse Israel and the United States of planning the aerial crashes that leveled the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City.

"Look, I don’t believe what your governments and press say. It just cannot be true," The Times quoted Ahmed Issab, a Syrian engineer who lives and works in the United Arab Emirates. "I think the US organized this so that they had an excuse to invade Iraq for the oil.”

Pakistani native Mohammed Jamil, writing in the Pakistan Observer justified the terrorists' motives, citing American-Israeli collusion. "There is a widespread perception that the U.S. leadership used 9/11 events to implement its program of controlling the world resource," he wrote.

"American President George W. Bush always turned a blind eye towards Israeli repression, state terrorism and killings of thousands of Palestinians…. On examining the initial statements of Osama bin Laden one could infer that Al Qaeda had twin objectives vis-à-vis the liberation of Palestine and exit of US forces from Saudi Arabia.

"Even the date Al Qaeda terrorists chose for their attack showed their true motivation, as September 11 is the anniversary of the League of Nations’ proclaiming in Palestine the British Mandate in 1922. The date represents the first physical step toward the implementation of the Balfour Declaration and establishment of Israel. This fact was never revealed because the world media is under the control of Jews… It was a calculated lie to divert the Americans from associating the disaster with the United States support for Israel."

Jamil added that "any country that bombs another country creates millions of angry enemies against it."

The Times street survey also showed that Arabs blame American foreign policy for the 9/11 attacks. "Maybe people who executed the operation were Arabs, but the brains? No way,” said Mohammed Ibrahim, a clothing-store owner Cairo told the newspaper. "It was organized by other people, the United States or the Israelis."

Many Arabs still spread the rumor that Jews did not go to work at the World Trade Center the morning of the attack, although there were indeed many Jews who died in the resulting blaze and collapse of the skyscraper.

Another Egyptian claimed that the real reason Americans have not captured Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is that he was not behind the attacks. "What happened in Iraq confirms that it has nothing to do with bin Laden or Qaeda. They went against Arabs and against Islam to serve Israel, that’s why," he claimed.

Dr. Ahmad Mustafa wrote in GulfNews.com that Arabs are the real victims of 9/11. He said the attacks have intensified a negative image of Muslims, which has reinforced violence.

An Israel Defense Forces soldier stationed at the Hawara checkpoint, south
of the West Bank city of Nablus, sustained mild facial injuries on
Wednesday, after a Palestinian woman poured an acidic substance in his face.

The soldier was taken to the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva for
treatment.

The woman arrived at the Hawara checkpoint and attempted to cross into
Israel using the humanitarian aid lane, which is meant for emergencies and
therefore has no security checks. Upon approaching the soldier manning the
lane, she threw the acid at his face and then ran back towards Nablus.

IDF forces are exercise lenience in all checkpoints, as part of the
military's efforts to ease the Palestinian population's suffering during the
month of Ramadan. Military sources said Wednesday that is was unfortunate
that the Palestinians were making cynical use of the IDF's attempts to
relieve the situation.

Hawara checkpoint has been the scene of many arrests in which Palestinians
were apprehended trying to smuggle weapons and explosives into Israel.

The past two months have seen a 16-year-old boy arrested with two pipe bombs
and a knife, and an 18-year old Palestinian arrested after a search of his
person yielded six pipe bombs, a rifle magazine and gun powder.

The Palestinians once again show the true face of what they have built, the sickest society on the face of the planet today.
They really have become Nazi's of today minus the beer.

Palestinian Authority (Fatah) TV is using the universally beloved characters
of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet in an attempt to
create a Disney-like studio -- while teaching children to glorify a mass
murderer whose victims included 12 children. In a new official PA TV studio
built for a Ramadan children's program, the smiling images of Mickey and
Minnie Mouse, Pooh and Piglet are the backdrop for a TV quiz that this week
venerated a notorious terrorist.

The female terrorist, Dalal Mughrabi, participated in the murders of 12
children and 25 adults in a 1978 bus attack in Israel. In this quiz,
Mughrabi is idolized as the "beloved bride, daughter of Jaffa, jasmine
flower," while figures of Mickey and Minnie Mouse are prominent in the
background -- as if it were a Disney program.

Click here to view
www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=qo5fYkByU0k:

[PA TV (Fatah), Sept. 4-6, 2008]

In May 2007, PMW reported that the Hamas TV network was using a Mickey Mouse
character to teach children to seek world Islamic domination. The widespread
international outrage prompted Al Aqsa TV to get rid of the character (they
showed him being beaten to death by an Israeli officer) and replace him with
another animal host.

Now Fatah TV, controlled by the office of PA head Mahmoud Abbas, is airing a
children's show that glorifies a mass murderer of children while trying to
create a Mickey Mouse Club atmosphere.
Last week the program taught children to deny the existence of Israel.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qI2ivZA2-Z4

The world did not put up with Hamas's use of the iconic Mickey Mouse to
brainwash children. Will the same international pressure be brought upon
Mahmud Abbas and the official Palestinian Authority to stop using these
beloved characters to sell terror?

Hizbullah kidnapping attempts foiled

Recent activities undertaken by the defense establishment were able to foil plots to kidnap senior Israeli officials abroad, a senior security official told Ynet Tuesday.

The Defense Ministry advised some reserve generals working abroad to return home because of a possible kidnap threat from Lebanon's Hizbullah guerrillas.The officials did not say how many officers were involved but said the warning was aimed at Israeli reservists in Africa and the Persian Gulf area.

According to the security source, in some cases, Israeli reservists received specific advanced warnings.

Al-Jazeera reported Tuesday morning that, according to Israeli defense officials, "the Mossad and Shin Bet ordered seven reserves officers to leave immediately the states in which they were staying and return to Israel, because their names appear on a Hizbullah list of kidnapping targets."

According to the Kuwait newspaper's report, the reserve officers in question deal in selling weapons and technology to states with whom Israel has no formal diplomatic ties, primarily Arab and Islamic states.

The defense establishment emphasizes that the kidnapping incidents were avoided largely because the reservists complied with their recommendations. Israel is unable to compel reservists to return from dangerous locations.

Last month Israel issued a general travel advisory telling Israelis abroad that Hizbullah has stepped up its efforts to kidnap Israelis, in retaliation of the assassination of Imad Mugniyah, a senior member of the organization, in February of this year, which the terror organization blames on Israel. The advisory included a list of precautions Israelis should follow while abroad.

In recent days, the defense establishment has been on heightened alert for the possibility that Hizbullah forces would attempt to kill or kidnap Israelis abroad.

A recent announcement by the Counter-Terror Bureau stated that: "Hizbullah blames Israel again and again for the death of Mughniyah, which increases the risk of terror… As such, the Counter-Terror Bureau stresses its travel advisory regarding the potential kidnap of Israelis abroad, particularly business people, and particularly those in contact with Arab or Muslim businessmen."

Armed Palestinian Factions Use Calm with Israel to Train New Fighters

Gaza, Asharq Al-Awsat - Shortly after nightfall, blinding heavy dust
suddenly rises over the Al-Sikkah Street, which is adjacent from the western
side to the Birkat al-Wazz, to the west of the Al-Maghazi Refugee Camp in
the middle of the Gaza Strip.

At the same time, the sound of heavy fire can be heard, while minutes later,
tens of men belonging to the al-Qassam Brigades, military wing of the Hamas
Movement, are seen moving fast in columns in the street with their full
military gear.

To the north of that neighborhood, lies the garrison of "Battalion 13",
which is the main training location of the al-Qassam Brigades in the area.
In the past, this site belonged to the security agencies of Palestinian
President Mahmud Abbas, but it was seized during the decisive military
action that ended with Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip.

Since the calm agreement between Israel and Hamas came into play, it has
been clearly evident that Palestinian resistance factions, without
exception, have taken advantage of the ceasefire by conducting military
training for their recruits.

The al-Qassam Brigades have recently announced on several occasions the
graduation of new groups of fighters. While a number of other military
Palestinian factions have set up training sites in former Jewish
settlements. These sites are regarded as the best environment for conducting
military training because they are uninhabited, have sandy hills, and are
very close to the seacoast. In addition to the al-Qassam Brigades, the
Al-Quds Brigades, military wing of the Islamic Jihad; the Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, a military group belonging to the Fatah Movement; and the Al-Nasir
Salah-al-Din Brigades, military wing of the Palestinian Popular Resistance
Committees, have all announced the completion of military exercises and in
the process the training of more fighters, while the Abu-Ali Mustafa
Brigades, military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine, recently announced the start of registration for its military
training.

The calm [with Israel] has encouraged resistance movements to conduct
military exercises inside Palestinian residential areas that are close to
the border areas, without approaching the contact lines with the Israeli
army. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, spokesman for the Popular Resistance
Committees Abu-Mujahid said the training exercises that are carried out by
the armed Palestinian resistance movements are part of these movements'
preparations to confront any large-scale Israeli military operation in the
heart of the Gaza Strip. He added: "Given the threats by (Israeli Defense
Minister) Baraq and his chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi [chief of the army
general staff] to carry out an incursion into Gaza when the calm period
ends, it is quite obvious that the resistance factions have no option, but
to take maximum precautionary measures and be on guard in order to confront
any aggression." Abu-Mujahid said the training includes training in the
abduction of soldiers, in addition to a number of martial arts, which
military commanders learned from their direct clashes with the occupation
forces. He pointed out that the resistance factions "learned lessons from
their actions during Israeli military operations in the heart of the Gaza
Strip." He threatened Israel with "unpleasant surprises if Israel attacks
the Gaza Strip."

Minister Eitan hints: Israel may kidnap Ahmadinejad

'The era of hunting down old Nazis is over, but may find himself before International Criminal Court in The Hague,' former Mossad operative tells German weekly Der Spiegel
Ynet

"The era of hunting down old Nazis is over, but that's not to say that such operations are completely a thing of the past, and it could very well be that a leader such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suddenly finds himself before the International Criminal Court in The Hague," former Mossad operative Rafi Eitan told German weekly Der Spiegel.

In the interview, published Monday, the current Israeli Minister of Pensioner Affairs said "Those who spread poison and want to eradicate another people has to expect such consequences."

Eitan went on to explain why Mossad didn’t apprehend Josef Mengele during the 1960 capture of Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires despite learning that the notorious concentration camp "doctor" was also in the Argentinean capital.

"There were just 11 of us and we had our hands full dealing with Eichmann. After we had brought Eichmann to the house where we kept him until we flew him out, my boss at the Mossad, Isser Harel, called. He wanted us to arrest Mengele as well, but Mengele had left his home in the mean time," the minister recalled.

"Harel said we should wait until he returned and then bring both he and Eichmann to Israel in the same plane. I refused because I didn't want to endanger the success of the Eichmann operation."

'It wasn't about revenge'

Eitan told the German weekly there was no discussion about which of the two were more important - Mengele, the "Angel of Death" from Auschwitz, or Eichmann, who administered the deportation and murder of millions of Jews.

"In 1958, we resolved to capture a former Nazi and bring him to justice in Israel. Possible targets included Mengele, Eichmann, the former head of the Gestapo Heinrich Müller, and Hitler's right-hand man Martin Bormann. The first one we could find was Eichmann, so we concentrated on him," he said.

"We wanted to keep Eichmann's extradition to Israel secret and then return to Buenos Aires to capture Mengele. But due to a leak, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion had to make an official announcement about our success. When our agents returned to Argentina, Mengele had moved out of his apartment and gone underground.

Asked whether Mossad was able to pick up Mengele's trail again before his death from a stroke in 1979, Eitan said "We were able to find him one other time, but we were not able to organize an operation to capture him.

"We could have killed him with a sharpshooter, but we didn't want to. It wasn't about revenge," he said.

September 05, 2008

MERF APPEARANCE

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

The time of the show is 3pm EDT, 12 noon Pacific and Arizona, 10pm Israel, every Sunday. Please feel free to call in if you have any questions about my weekly comments. If you should happen to miss the show then you can go to the MERF web page and listen to me and other guest in the archives.

September 04, 2008

'Free Gaza' Activists Plan another Landing Sept, 22

(IsraelNN.com) Pro-Arab activists plan to challenge Israeli sovereignty a second time with another "Free Gaza" boat sailing on September 22, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. Two boats landed at the Gaza beach two weeks ago after the Foreign Minister decided it was better to let the activists symbolically break Israeli sovereignty than to grant them publicity by arresting them or allowing them to stage a long protest at sea.

Jamal al-Khodary, head of the Popular Committee Against the Siege, said the third boat also will sail from Cyprus and will carry members of the European Union (EU) parliament, doctors and media.

Israel must take care of this problem and soon in a way that solves the problem for good.

The Southern Wall of Jerusalem that Dates to the Time of the

Press Release www.israntique.org.il

The southern end of ancient Jerusalem, from when the city was at its
largest, was recently discovered in the form of an impressive city wall
2,100 years old

A large excavation which is being conducted by the Israel Antiquities
Authority together with the Nature and Parks Authority, and underwritten by
the Ir David
Foundation, was presented in a press conference that was held today
(Wednesday)

An exciting discovery in Jerusalem constituting extraordinary remains of the
wall of the city from the time of the Second Temple (second century BCE-70
CE) that was built by the Hasmonean kings and was destroyed during the Great
Revolt, and also the remains of a city wall from the Byzantine period
(324-640 CE) which was built on top of it, were uncovered in an extensive
excavation that is currently underway on Mount Zion. The lines of these
fortifications delineated Jerusalem from the south in periods when the
ancient city had reached its largest size.

The new finds were presented today (Wednesday) at a press conference that
was held on Mount Zion. The excavation has been in progress for the past
year and a half, under the direction of archaeologist Yehiel Zelinger of the
Israel Antiquities Authority, in cooperation with the Nature and Parks
Authority and with financial support provided by the Ir David Foundation.

The project is being implemented as part of the master plan for the
Jerusalem City Wall National Park, the purpose of which is to preserve the
region around the Old City of Jerusalem as an open area for tourism. In the
future the remains of the ancient city walls will be incorporated in a
promenade that will encircle the southern side of Mount Zion and will
continue along the northern bank of Gai Ben Hinnom and terminate in the City
of David.

The lines of the wall that delineate Mount Zion from the west and the south
were first discovered and excavated at the end of the nineteenth century
(1894-1897) by the Palestine Exploration Fund, under the direction of the
archaeologist Frederick Jones Bliss and his architect assistant, Archibald
Dickie. The work methods they employed involved the excavation of shafts
that were linked by subterranean tunnels which ran along the outer face of
the city walls.

Over the years their shafts and tunnels have filled up with soil and a year
and a half ago when archaeologists were asked to determine the location of
the areas that were excavated one hundred years ago they were unsuccessful
in doing so. By cross-referencing the plans of the old excavation with
updated maps of the area from today archaeologist Yehiel Zelinger was able
to locate the tunnel which the British expedition had dug. There remained in
it "souvenirs" that were left behind by the early excavators in the form of
one of the laborer's shoes, the top of a gas light which was used to
illuminate the tunnels, as well as fragments of beer and wine bottles from
120 years ago.

According to Yehiel Zelinger, excavation director on behalf of the Israel
Antiquities Authority, "Having located the two city walls on Mount Zion
corroborates our theory regarding the expansion of the city toward the south
during these two periods, when Jerusalem reached its largest size. In the
Second Temple period the city, with the temple at its center, was a focal
point for Jewish pilgrimage from all over the ancient world and in the
Byzantine period it attracted Christian pilgrims who came in the footsteps
of the story of the life and death of their messiah. The exposure of the
Hasmonean city wall and the line of fortifications from the Byzantine
period, which is dated 400 years later and is right on top of the former,
prove that this is the most advantageous topographic location for the
defense of the city. The artifacts indicate that in spite of the fact that
the builders of the Byzantine wall were unaware of the existence of the wall
from the time of the Second Temple they constructed their wall precisely
along the same route". Zelinger adds, "The fact that after 2,100 years the
remains of the first city wall were preserved to a height of three meters is
amazing. This is one of the most beautiful and complete sections of
construction in the Hasmonean building style to be found in Jerusalem".

Additional Information and Details

The Byzantine Period City Wall
Christian pilgrims of the fifth and sixth centuries CE ascribe the line of
the city wall's construction to the Empress Eudocia, the estranged wife of
Emperor Theodosius II. According to the historical sources of this period,
the city wall was erected because of a biblical verse that appears in the
Book of Psalms (51:20), "Do good in thy favor unto Zion; Build Thou the
walls of Jerusalem". In translating the Bible to Greek the word that meant
"do good in thy favor" was translated with a word that greatly resembled the
name of the empress. Eudocia therefore concluded that the reference was
explicitly intended for her and that it was she who was destined to build
the walls of Jerusalem. In the excavation a section of the city wall was
uncovered that rises to a maximum height of 3.30 meters and is approximately
2.50 meters wide. The wall was built of stones that were specifically
quarried and dressed for this purpose; however, one can also discern some of
the stones in its construction were probably taken from nearby ancient
fortifications.

The Fortifications of the Second Temple Period
South of the line of fortifications from the Byzantine period and at a depth
of approximately 4 meters below the elevation of its base, a tower that is
preserved to a height of 3.20 meters was exposed which dates to the time of
the Hasmonean Dynasty (the Second Temple period). The tower was built on the
bedrock which was straightened and made fairly level. It was constructed of
large stones that are characterized by a dressed boss in their center, with
no bonding material between them. The "header-stretcher" construction method
used in building the tower is typical of the Hasmonean period. The tower was
part of the line of the "First Wall" that is described by Josephus. Other
sections of the "First Wall" were revealed at the base of the western wall
of the Ottoman city wall, in David's Citadel and in other excavations that
were conducted in the Jewish Quarter. The soil fill and the pottery sherds
that abut the city wall prove that it was used until the time of the Great
Revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in the year 70 CE.
Afterwards, the stones of the wall were taken for secondary use, probably in
order to build "Aelia Capitolina", the Roman colony which the emperor
Hadrian established on the ruins of Jerusalem in the year 131 CE.

September 03, 2008

Olmert to Introduce Disengagement II at Cabinet Meeting Sunday

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plans to introduce an embryonic strategy for the next Disengagement, this one from Judea and Samaria, at the Cabinet meeting on Sunday.

Olmert said in a statement issued by his office Wednesday night that he will present a plan "that has been coordinated by Vice Premier Chaim Ramon on the issue of voluntary relocation and compensation from Judea and Samaria."

According to the statement, "The issue will be discussed but not voted upon at this stage." Olmert said he "intends to hear comments on the initiative; continued treatment of this issue will proceed accordingly."

The exact same language was used prior to the expulsion of some 8,000 Jews from their homes in the Gush Katif region of Gaza and northern Samaria in the summer of 2005.

Outraged Response by MKs In and Out of Gov't

The Shas party said bluntly that its ministers would oppose any discussion of Ramon's initiative in the cabinet session on Sunday.

"This move lacks public, legal and human legitimacy," declared Shas party leader and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai. He vowed to block it, adding, "These delusional ideas present us not just as people with no backbone, but as actual invertebrates."

Likud faction whip Gideon Sa'ar was equally outraged, commenting, "Olmert continues attempts to create facts on the ground in the spirit of the extreme Left, in his last days in office. Olmert did not have a majority in the Knesset to pass this delusional law before he resigned and he will not have a majority now either," he vowed.

Even Olmert's fellow Kadima party member, MK Otniel Schneller said that "if the 'expulsion compensation law' passes the government should be disbanded."

Schneller, who lives in Ma'aleh Michmas, said "In a democratic country, boundaries are not drawn through government-sponsored bribery. The law's meaning, wherever it is applied, is the creation of the State's permanent boundaries."

Time is Running Out for the Prime Minister

Prime Minister Olmert may have lost his race to put some form of final status agreement into place with the Palestinian Authority and create the groundwork for an expulsion from Judea and Samaria, however.

Channel 10 television reported Wednesday evening that the prime minister might be indicted for suspected criminal offenses as early as Sunday, possibly pre-empting the Cabinet's planned meeting on the nascent plan for Disengagement II.

Top police investigators are slated to meet Thursday to discuss whether to recommend indicting Olmert. According to the report, there is a general consensus among the investigators in favor of filing charges against the prime minister on at least three matters, known as the "cash-stuffed envelopes," Rishon Tours and the Center for Investment.

September 02, 2008

Shared Values

Terrorist's home will not be demolished

In response to petition by father of Mercaz Harav shooter, High Court orders Homefront Command to freeze demolition of family home
Aviad Glickman

The Israeli High Court ruled Tuesday evening to freeze demolition on the home of terrorist Alaa Abu Dhaim, who murdered eight unarmed students and injured ten others, in an attack at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in March.

The decree, announced by High Court Judge Salim Jubran, came in response to a petition by the terrorist’s father, Hisam Abu Dhaim, who claimed that a Homefront Command order to demolish the second and third stories of the four-story family residence would make the entire residence uninhabitable for the rest of the family.

In early August, Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered to launch proceedings aimed at razing the Dhaim family home, pursuant to the son's terrorist actions.

Dhaim was informed of the demolition plans in mid-August by Homefront Command Chief Major-General Yair Golan. The terrorist’s family’s appeal to the IDF was rejected, so they then petitioned the Supreme Court on the matter.

Hisam Dhaim, assisted by his attorney Andre Rosental and an Israeli civil liberties group, petitioned the court to grant a freeze on the partial demolition of the Dhaim family home and to grant him access to the engineering plans of the demolition in order to prove that destroying the second and third floors of the residence (where Alaa Abu Dhaim had lived) was not feasible without damaging the entire residence.

The Dhaims claimed that the government intended to punish the entire family unfairly for the son’s actions.

The father further contended that the son's actions did not constitute terrorism. To this end, Dhaim requested from the court that Golan provide proof of his son’s affiliation with an illegal organization.

He asserted that he did not know of his son’s connection to any such organization and emphasized that his son cannot be labeled as a terrorist merely because he was an Arab and his victims were Jewish Yeshiva students.

The legal team, noting that horrible attacks have also been undertaken by Jews, suggests that the Alaa Abu Dhaim might merely have lost his mind and become violent and, thus, should not be subject to the posthumous punishments associated with terrorists.

Finally, Dhaim railed against the entire concept of house demolitions and demanded to see the protocols from two military committees convened in 2005. According to Dhaim’s legal team, the first committee recommended against razing terrorists’ homes in the West Bank and the second committee ruled that military demolitions did not serve as a deterrent to terrorists at all.

While the full protocols were not published, it is true that, pursuant to the committee meeting, Former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz decided to stop house demolitions during his tenure.

Yesterday the High Court sided with a traitor from the Knesset and today they side with the family of a terrorist that murdered children while they studied.

Let us not forget that the family celebrated their child becoming a Shaheed a martyr.

This family should be picked up and deported their home destroyed and a new Yeshiva built on the place where the home stood.

Id there any limit to how low the scum in black robes will sink too. When will the Jewish people have a High Court that will safe guard the Jewish people.

I guess the judges feel more comfortable will traitors and terrorist than they do with Jews, but most people are more comfortable being around people that they share values with.

Former Balad chairman, ex-Knesset Member Azmi Bishara, will be able to keep getting his Knesset pension, the High Court of Justice ruled Monday.

Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish and the honorable Edna Arbel and Miriam Naor, further decided to deny the petition filed by Danny Danon, head of World Likud, demanding Bishara's Israeli citizenship be revoked; citing that since the constitutional proceedings in the matter have yet to be completed, the court was unable to weigh the matter.

Bishara resigned from the Knesset and fled Israel last year, after the defense establishment began investigating his possible involvement with Hizbullah operatives during the Second Lebanon War. No charges were ever filed against him.

In a recent legal brief submitted to the Knesset following several motions demanding the House revokes Bishara's pension rights, Knesset Legal Advisor Nurit Elstien negated the move, saying it harms Bishara's proprietary rights and therefore can be challenged in court.

Elstien's brief was prepared at the request of the Knesset House Committee, which has three motions demanding Bishara's rights be revoked before it.

The first motion, filed by MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu), calls for the revocation of pension rights of any MK suspected of violating State security.

The other two motions, filed by MKs Yitzhak Levy, Effie Eitam and Zvi Hendel (National Union-National Religious Party), ask the committee to revoke only Bishara's pension; with one of them stipulating that they may be resumed should he make himself available for police questioning.

Sunday, Bishara published a statement on several international Arabic websites, in which he wrote, “I will not give up my citizenship, but if they want to take it, they can take it. I will not defend myself before the (Israeli High Court) on this issue, nor on the issue of my pension.”

When treason becomes the norm and is not punished by death how long can a country at war survive?

How can anyone call any judges that reward treason honorable, for allowing Bishara to keep his pension these judges have shown they have no honor and no love of Israel or the Jewish people.

Any judge or member of the Knesset that supports Bishara keeping his pension gains a special place in the hall of shame of the Cowards, Scum and Traitors that currently lead Israel.